Xmas Gifts
by J.W.Melmoth
Summary: Kurt and Sebastian's first Christmas Eve together.


Kurt sat on the edge of the couch, his lower lip trapped between his teeth, his hands between his knees. It was Christmas Eve, his first with Sebastian. The next morning they'd be joining their families in Lima and Vermont for dinner and skiing respectively, but for now they were together in Sebastian's small apartment, made festive by a garland of multicoloured blinking lights that Sebastian had put up over the window and the smell of cinnamon-scented candles Kurt had brought to mask the smell of cat litter that the apartment's previous owner had left. It always got a little worse when the heating came on, but the candles helped.

Kurt had convinced Sebastian to honour the Hummel tradition of opening one present each on Christmas Eve, and so Sebastian was currently unwrapping Kurt's gift. Rather than tearing the wrapping paper off as Kurt had secretly expected, Sebastian was carefully peeling at the cellotape. It surprised Kurt a little. Though he knew from experience those long fingers could be patient and gentle, he had sort of imagined Sebastian to be as eager to know what his boyfriend had gotten him as Kurt was to see him open it. He suspected Sebastian was doing it on purpose because he could tell how excited Kurt was.

As he finally folded the paper open to reveal the present inside, Kurt couldn't stop himself any more and started babbling.

"It's a calendar. I figured, since you're always accidentally erasing the one on your phone… That's calf's leather, by the way. It matches your bag. But it's also thin enough to fit into the inside pocket of your coat, I checked. I wasn't sure if you'd like it, but if you don't, I guess I could use it since I can't return it, I- uh. I took the liberty of adding in a few dates."

Sebastian had to bite his tongue to keep himself from laughing as he flipped through the pages and saw Kurt's tidy handwriting. _Kurt & Sebastian's anniversary. Kurt's birthday. Valentines' Day._ It was hardly subtle, but he took the hint good-naturedly. He knew he hadn't the best track record when it came to remembering dates that meant something to Kurt.

"It's great," he said. "I love it."

"Really?" Kurt replied, sounding a little insecure.

Sebastian smiled and made a show of checking the time on his phone. "_Really_. We promised 'no sarcasm after midnight', right? I might not know how to use my phone's calendar, but I can read the clock."

Kurt sighed in relief. "Okay. Then give me yours," he demanded.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow teasingly but relented quickly and handed over a sleek, flat box with a shiny bow. Kurt breathed in deeply and sucked in his lip again. It looked like something from a jewellery store, but it was too broad to be a watch case and too flat to be an ornament or brooch of some kind. He slipped off the bow quickly and lifted the lid.

Inside, folded into pale lavender tissue paper, lay a small pad of black silk. A small rhinestone and an embroidered signature sparkled on one end. Kurt traced the letters with his fingers reverently.

"I didn't know Karl Lagerfeld made eye masks," he said.

"He doesn't," Sebastian replied. "That is, I guess he did. But just this one."

Kurt looked up. "He-? You-? How?" He considered himself quite the connoisseur of online designer outlet opportunities, but he had never managed to get his hands on a unique piece.

Sebastian sat back and basked in Kurt's awe for a moment before explaining.

"Do you remember that time you made me wait at the vogue office forever because you were busy going over the Halloween issue with that snooty guy, whatshisface?"

"Chase," Kurt reminded him. That issue had been a real horror- and not because of the theme. One of the main editorials had fallen through because of creative differences with the photographer and they had to arrange a last-minute replacement, shuffling the other articles to get the pages filled as the ads had already been sold.

"Right. Well, while you were having your crisis meeting, I took the opportunity to have a little chat with your boss."

"You talked to Isabelle?" Kurt repeated.

Sebastian nodded. "Helped her out a little, actually." As Kurt cocked his head inquisitively, Sebastian continued. "She was on the phone with the French Vogue office and they were having a little trouble understanding each other."

"Ugh, that receptionist is the worst," Kurt commiserated. He usually made those calls for Isabelle; his school French was still a lot better than hers.

"Yeah, she sounded like a real bitch. Your boss needed them to send over some pieces from their vaults and she was all 'you need an extra international insurance for that, those pieces are too valuable,' rah rah. I thought you guys were all one company, you know? So I sweettalked her a little, told her she had my _personal_ promise that they would be taken perfect care of, and voila, she agreed."

Kurt smirked. "You sweettalked her? How?"

Sebastian pretended to be insulted. "What? You don't think I can be charming if I want to? Thanks a lot, Kurt. Anyway, so Isabelle was very grateful to me after that, and I immediately cashed that in for a favour." He nodded at the parcel. "You're always saying my drapes let in too much light in the mornings."

Kurt caressed the soft silk with the tips of his fingers. "They do. I always wake up way too early."

"Yeah, and then you leave," Sebastian replied, sulking a little. "So it's really a present for me, actually."

Kurt laughed. "You got me a designer eye mask so I'll stay in bed with you longer?"

Sebastian shrugged. "The end justifies the means."

"Well, I love it. Thank you. Too bad we'll have to set the alarm clock for tomorrow morning or we'll miss our flights. I would have loved to test it right away." He looked up from the parcel and saw Sebastian leer at him. "What?"

"We could test it _now_," Sebastian suggested, and something in his eyes told Kurt he didn't necessarily mean to put it on for sleeping.

Kurt felt his cheeks start to burn, but he didn't back down. "That sounds…interesting," he replied. "But-" he put up a warning finger, "nothing collars or scarves can't cover, I'm seeing my _family _tomorrow."

Sebastian sighed dramatically, but Kurt knew he'd be in good hands. Merry Christmas to them, indeed.


End file.
